COLORADO SPRINGS, CO - Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers is calling on the Colorado legislature to vote down the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act, SB 19-188, because of the harm it would do to local and state economies.

“I’ve spoken with businesses of all sizes and they’ve made it loud and clear that State Bill 19-188 will be an imposing detriment on the vitality of their operations,” said Suthers. “Though well-intentioned, the FAMLI proposal is the largest and most expensive program of its kind in the nation. The cost imposed upon every employee and employer in the state, as well as state government, will significantly harm our economy.”

SB 19-188 is scheduled for a vote of the Senate today.

“I urge the General Assembly to vote no on Senate Bill 19-188, and instead, conduct a thorough actuarial study of the program’s true costs, and propose a more defined, reasonable and affordable proposal that protects, rather than harms, our economy.”

About SB 19-188

SB19-188 creates a mandatory program that grants paid leave and job protection to employees. The proposal applies to every employer in the state and would be funded 60 percent by employees and 40 percent by employers. Local governments would be exempted from paying the employer share, but local government employees could opt in, leaving private sector and nonprofit employees and employers to subsidize their coverage. Sole proprietors could also opt in. An employee would be eligible for paid leave after working for 90 days and could take up to 12 weeks of paid leave. The program would be created as an enterprise of state government, costing $18.8 million per year and would require hundreds of employees to run.